My Shining Star: 10th Anniversary Edition
by Poketoa
Summary: Geo Stelar has already saved Earth on four different occasions, and even managed to save Planet FM as well. And now, in the relative peace, a new girl has transferred to Echo Ridge Elementary... In celebration of the 10th anniversary of Mega Man Star Force's Japanese release, I've decided to give this fic that keeps getting hits a rewrite with a bit of a different plot.
1. Chapter 1

My Shining Star: Tenth Anniversary Edition

It's been a long time coming, guys, but Star Force has returned to my mind. And I decided to check up on this place. And I noticed that for some weird reason, I have 23,000 hits on my old fanfiction, and some of them continue to be recent.

Due to this… I'm going to do it, guys.

I'm going to give you all a new story. But since I've already spoiled the ending, which admittedly was tied to the Firefox story anyway, I'm going to have to do some… revision.

I'm going to make it a bit more of an adventure this time instead of JUST a lot of fluff.

Oh, and the intro is skippable if you remember the games well enough. But I mean, it's been a LONG time, even since the third game, so I included it to set the tone.

In any case, there's only one thing left to say.

Welcome back, everyone.

* * *

Chapter 1

It is the year 220X.

Technology has advanced greatly in the past year following a series of crises. First, an alien race attempted to destroy the Earth due to a misunderstanding. When it was cleared up, the resulting formation of a BrotherBand with Planet FM gave rise to a new era of EM Technology, including Matter Waves, Navis that controlled materialized EM waves, and Link Power, a physical manifestation of the strength of BrotherBands. However, this also caused the emergence of a second crisis – the reappearance of the Lost Continent of Mu. Mu unleashed an ancient plague of EM viruses upon humanity, those naturally from Earth. This led to the development of the Hunter VG, a new type of terminal created for the sole purpose of hunting these EM Viruses. Murian technology also led to the development of more advanced Real Waves, objects without sentience made from materialized EM waves, previously only used for Battle Cards. Additionally, it led to the readoption of a two hundred year old idea: the creation of Wizards mirrored the idea of the NetNavis of old, with the added benefit of being able to materialize and help more directly in everyday life. However, the creation of Wizards and the increase of technology was not without its drawbacks. A corrupting influence called Noise emerged across the world, and began to cluster together, sometimes causing significant harm especially to man-made EM beings exposed to too much, and other times creating pocket dimensions or wormholes. Noise clusters would come together sometimes, and form a tangible type of deep red Noise, called Crimson. EM beings in battle would often produce quantities of crimson unwittingly. The Ace and Joker programs were developed to control Noise and Crimson for their beneficial purposes. A third and final crisis arose when an ambitious man named King tried to take over the earth using the power of a meteor made of Noise and Crimson. In all of these crises, one hero stood up to defend humanity, one who had learned the power of bonds firsthand, a blue shooting star for the blue Earth, and even worlds beyond. His name echoed the name of a hero of old, who had saved the earth in the distant past.

His name was MegaMan.

April 220X

Small tufts of cloud drifted lazily by in the night sky. A cool early spring breeze blew through the air, gently wrapping the world in its calming touch. And there, on a bench in a grassy park, slept Geo Stelar. It wasn't as if his presence there was too abnormal – he loved going out to Vista Point to look at the stars, even after his father had returned. But lately his mind had been drifting as he did. The past year had brought him quite a few changes. Just a year before he had shunned other people, so he wouldn't have to lose them like he thought he'd lost his father. But now, it was different. Friends, Brothers, the bonds he had created over the past year were bonds he knew wouldn't easily be broken. But for one in particular, he had been thinking a bit more about than others. With everything that happened, all of his friends were at his side, but none so more than one Sonia Strumm. She was his first Brother, the one who made him realize that he could trust others again, the one who made him realize just how much one person could affect another's life. And because of that, recently he'd been drifting off while stargazing, just thinking of her. Of course, he wouldn't quite tell anyone that, he wasn't ready and it was all sort of weird. But then, a certain Wizard knew better. A Wizard from Planet AM.

"Geo. Wake up."

The boy stirred slightly, mumbling in his sleep.

"Geo, you've been sleeping on that bench for an hour now," said Omega-Xis.

"Huh…? Waugh!" Geo jumped up, suddenly alert. "Who what where's going on?"

"Relax kid, you just fell asleep on the bench again."

"Ugh… why does this keep happening…?" asked Geo, standing and stretching.

"Kid, I couldn't tell you. But you might want to get home already, your mom's probably starting to get worried."

"Since when are you so concerned with that, Mega?" Geo gave the Wizard a one-eyed look while stretching.

"Since because I feel like it, and just sitting out here is sort of boring. Why bother coming to this particular place anyway? You can see space way better from the Astro Wave, or even Planet FM."

"It's nothing, just sort of like this place in particular…"

"…Humans," he muttered. With that, Omega-Xis returned to Geo's Hunter-VG. Geo started down the nearby stairs and headed towards home, still wondering why Sonia was the only thing on his mind.

Recently, there had been some changes to the yard next door to Geo's house. Specifically, an entire unoccupied house had been demolished, paving the way for a statue that gave information on Echo Ridge. It was sort of a bother though, lately – after all, the world knew that the young boy was MegaMan now, and many people had wanted pictures with the statue right next to his house as a result. Eventually, the city got involved, and it was decided that the statue couldn't stay there if they wanted to protect the peace of the place. The lot had stood empty for most of the winter, but as Geo turned the corner, he noticed a change in the street.

"Hey, Mega, does something look different to you?"

Mega materialized himself, then blinked in surprise. "Geo, put on your visualizer. You're not going to believe this."

Upon doing so, Geo realized why something felt off. "It's… a Real Wave house, next door to mine? But I thought they were leaving that lot empty?"

"Apparently, they changed their mind. Hopefully it's not someone too MegaMan crazy. The last thing we need are more crowds around here."

Geo walked past the new house, quietly returning to his own. Entering the door, he raised his voice slightly. "Mom, I'm home!"

"Geo Stelar, do you have any idea what time it is?" His mother, Hope, had been waiting for him.

"Actually, no…"

"It's 5 in the morning, Geo."

"What!?" Geo turned to look at Mega. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Don't blame me," the blue alien retorted, "I got bored when you fell asleep so I decided to mess around on my own for a while. I didn't exactly check the time when I got back…"

"Mega, the last time I looked at the clock, it was 9."

"Boys," interrupted Hope, "don't you have anything else to say?"

Both Mega and Geo flinched at her words. "Sorry," they muttered in unison.

Then Geo spoke up. "Well, I do have Mega with me, so it's not like I was going to have too much trouble anyway…"

Hope blinked. "Well, I guess that's true… but you still should be more careful. You might have saved the world more than once, but that doesn't mean I get to stop worrying about you, Geo."

"I really am sorry though." Geo looked down and away, towards his bedroom. Hope caught this change in expression.

"This is the third time this week something like this has happened… Geo, is there something wrong again?"

"No, nothing like that, it's just… I don't know, I'm annoyed at it too."

"Geo… just try to not do that in the future, okay?"

"Right…"

"Can I get you anything?"

"Breakfast, I guess…" The boy looked up. "Might as well get ready for the day…"

"Alright, I'll go ahead and make something for you…" Hope knew her son. As she watched him walk upstairs to his room, she couldn't help but feel like something just wasn't right with the boy. She headed over to the kitchen and materialized some pancakes for Geo, yawning.

Real Waves were a funny invention. Instead of just connecting people, they could create beautiful things that sometimes wouldn't be physically possible. Things like a statue that stood on a string, or a house going up overnight. As Geo got ready for the day, he couldn't help but wonder who had moved in next door, and if they were going to attend Echo Ridge Elementary…

The sound of water filled the air as the girl finished rinsing off. She stepped out of the shower, wrapping herself in a fluffy pink towel. Having dried off and gotten dressed, she brought up the local news as she waited for her hair to dry.

"…And in trending news, pop idol Sonia Strumm has announced another vacation for herself in the spring following her successful exit from retirement, saying she's taking some more time to be with the friends she's made. In a statement yesterday, she said that her friends are, quote, 'the inspiration for her songs,' and that she would be 'returning after with all new music.' She says she loves her fans, and hopes they will understand her absence."

The girl looked up at the time and started brushing her hair, quietly humming a nameless tune.

"Two hundred year old culture making resurgence this month as a time capsule was dug up in Time Square. Among the items inside the time capsule were hard drives full of movies, images, and television series, as well as an antique device called a PET, which functioned much like today's Hunter VGs. Local theaters will be showing movies from 200X in special viewings this coming month, and radio station WEKO will be playing hits from 200 years ago."

"Sounds interesting," the girl said to no one in particular. Her hair done, she headed toward the door. "Well, then, I guess so is today. Real Wave, activate!"

The door opened, and the brown haired girl stepped outside, greeting the day with shining emerald eyes.

* * *

Wew lads.

So that's our first chapter this time. I'm hoping I capture the characters a bit more closely to their canonical appearances, while at the same time maintaining at least some of the humor of the original. Seven years ago Poketoa was a very different person, turns out, but was also pretty good at THE KEIKAKU.

"But where's the Sonia scene?" asked the reader. It's nowhere yet. Last time, I literally said "don't ask me why she's there, also lol I forgot to explain an important plot point xDDDDD"

Yeah, no. This chapter already has enough trouble with telling over showing as it is. In the old version, it reads as a semi-trollfic, and were I not the writer, I would ALMOST expect it to be a troll. Not sure if that's good or bad… In any case… I'm hoping I handle this rewrite alright. Onwards and upwards.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The bell sounded, and the crowded hallways slowly began to empty as students shuffled to class. At the start of April, everyone in class 6B was surprised at the fact that they'd kept their classmates from the previous year. Everyone was even more surprised when on that first day, Mitch Shepar walked into the room again, saying he would be teaching them another year. By the second week, seeing the friendly man with a big head of hair wearing a lab coat and beakers draped around his neck was routine yet again. What wasn't routine was how he was about to start the class.

"Alright everyone, settle down," he said. "Class, we have something very interesting today. An exchange student is going to be joining us for a while. Why don't you introduce yourself?"

A girl with short brown hair and green eyes stood at the front of the class. "Good morning everyone! My name is Melody Nebo. Pleased to meet you!"

Mega whispered from Geo's Hunter VG. "Geo, that girl."

"What about her?"

"Put on your visualizer."

Geo did so, and to his surprise, an orange block was around her head. "Her head's covered by a Real Wave?"

"Exactly. Whoever she is, she doesn't want people to see who she really is."

"She seems sort of familiar, especially her voice…"

"You're probably just imagining things. Stay on your guard around her."

"Right."

Mr. Shepar continued, "Melody is here from the next town over, so make sure she feels welcome while she's here! Now then, time to start the lesson…"

After classes ended, everyone crowded around Melody. Apparently, Geo and Mega weren't the only one to notice the Real Wave, thanks to the class's Wizards. Geo put a hand to the back of his head. "Looks like we're not the only ones who noticed something off," he said. "I hope she isn't too bothered by it."

The rest of the kids kept crowding around her, until finally the student body president spoke up. "Hold it!" she exclaimed, her long blonde twin tails swinging behind her. "Don't you people have any sense of decency? If she doesn't want to show her face, there's probably a reason for it. Do you think the school would let her in if it was a problem?"

A boy with long, spiky black hair and a scar gave a glance to the class president. "Tch, I'd believe it."

"Jack, this doesn't concern you."

"Whatever…"

She turned to face the class. "I don't care what she looks like, I'm going to take it upon myself to get to know her without judging her by her face."

The girl, who had been looking down until now, finally perked up. "Thanks, Luna!"

"The pleasure is mine." With that, the blonde turned around to get her things.

"But I really should be going soon… Later!"

Before Luna could speak, the mysterious girl had already darted out of the room. Geo looked down at Omega-Xis. "Well that was… odd."

Mega's voice came through the Hunter VG. "Geo, let's follow her. See what she's up to."

"Isn't that kind of rude?" Geo replied.

"I don't know why, but I have a feeling you should follow her, and as MegaMan," he explained. "She might be trouble."

"Right… I guess we have a responsibility to make sure for everyone… even if the Prez says otherwise." He left the room, headed down the elevator to the first floor, and exited the front of the school. As he looked down at his Hunter VG, he noticed a couple students watching him, knowing that look in his eye. The town had gotten used to MegaMan's presence after all, but he'd earned himself quite the fan club among the students, to his chagrin. He sighed, then smiled as he knew they meant well. "Transcode 003: MegaMan!" In an instant, Omega-Xis enveloped Geo, and the two EM Wave Changed, disappearing from human view.

MegaMan opened his eyes. "Now where did she go…?"

Mega caught her first. "Geo, she's over there, heading to Vista Point."

MegaMan began following Melody to Vista Point using the wave road. After a while, they came to a raised platform with a telescope. Suddenly, Melody turned around sharply. "I can see you, you know, Geo Stelar."

MegaMan gulped, and undid the wave change. "Aah… sorry, I-"

"Sorry isn't going to cut it mister!"

Omega-Xis returned to the Hunter VG. "Uh-oh… time to hide…"

"Where do you get off thinking you can follow someone around? Do you think just because you're some hero you can just do whatever you want?"

A thought finally registered in Geo's mind. "Wait, how do you know my name? Come to think of it, Luna never told you her name, either. Who are you, exactly?"

Melody looked around, then giggled. "Aww, this disguise really does work." She leaned in towards Geo. Their faces were almost touching. A soft, soothing singing voice escaped her lips. "Shooting star, you guide me in the dark…"

And with that, she dropped the Real Wave. Standing with her face inches away from Geo's, was pink-haired, big eyed, Sonia Strumm. Geo froze as she stared him down. "Well? What do you have to say for yourself?"

Geo wavered slightly. Then he promptly collapsed on the ground, unconscious.

"Oh my- Geo! Are you alright?"

Mega and Lyra popped out of their Hunter VGs. The steel blue FM-ian harp spoke up first. "Wow, Sonia, you really did a number on him."

Mega looked around. "Shoot, I've heard about things like this! He might need CPR!"

Sonia, not knowing any better way to deal with the situation, shouted at Mega. "Quick, go get help!"

Omega-Xis complied. Sonia then looked around, and figured if it was the best way to help Geo, so be it. She leaned in to check his breathing which was there but shallow, then did what anyone who didn't really know better would do – jumped straight to an attempt at mouth to mouth. Geo started coughing from the sudden rush of air, then opened his eyes as Sonia was going in yet again. He immediately sat up and shouted, wide-eyed, "Sonia! What the heck are you doi-"

Of course, Sonia being in his way, they managed to knock into each other's heads. "Oww!" they both yelped in unison.

Geo looked straight at Sonia. "What was the deal with that? First you scare the life out of me, and I wake up to- whatever that was? What was that anyway?"

"I… You passed out, and I tried to give you CPR…"

"That's not even how that works, Sonia!"

"How was I supposed to know? I mean… Ah. Well… it's fine. It's not like anybody saw that or anything."

"Good thing, I guess. That was… weird." Geo looked up. A faint shout could be heard in the distance. "Hey, what's that…?"

"Beats me…"

Lyra, who was too amused by the goings on, looked up. "It's Mega, and he's brought, uh… help…"

Geo and Sonia turned around. There, running frantically down the path with a bucket of water, was Luna. Her faint yelling grew clearer. "Hold on, MegaMan darling! I'm coming to save you!" And with that, she rushed up, throwing a bucket of water on the other two, sitting on the grass.

* * *

 _"There's always a boy… some CPR… a bucket."_

 _-Some nerd who played too much Bioshock, probably_

Wow, this chapter went on longer than I expected. So I decided to split it up and make the other part the next chapter instead.

I wonder if I'll get some actual critique though. I feel like this still could be better at showing and not telling.

Might make good storyboard writing though… Maybe? I wouldn't know, I haven't looked into all that.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"So let me get this straight, you're going to attend Echo Ridge Elementary for a while?" asked Luna. Her usual entourage, Bud and Zack, were sitting on either side of her in a booth at a restaurant.

"Yes…" replied Sonia, wearing her 'Melody' disguise. "I want to be around you guys more. Working takes a lot of time, and I meant what I said when I told everyone that you guys inspire my songs."

Bud and Zack sat up, hearts practically in their eyes. "Wow…" They both looked upward, thinking about what that meant.

"Friends… with Sonia Strumm…" escaped Bud, breathlessly.

"To think, we inspire her music… wow!" Zack looked up, lost in a daydream.

"Get a grip you two," said Luna. "Sonia is our friend, so we need to be there for her. That's why you're in disguise, right?"

"Yes. And stop calling me Sonia," she replied, "it sort of defeats the purpose of the Real Wave here."

"Oh, right, 'Melody,' I'm sorry."

"I want to see if people will know me for me, not just because I'm on a bunch of ads. Plus, remember what happened last time I hung around Echo Ridge?"

Geo let out an exasperated groan. "Don't remind me. We had to run off on the Wave Road just to get a moment of peace."

"Exactly. So really try for me while we're at school, okay? I sort of want to experience things without being approached as much… It gets sort of tiring."

Mega materialized himself next to the table. "Don't worry, we've had enough of all that too. At least the locals have sort of gotten used to MegaMan walking among them. For a few months there, it was nothing but interview after interview, people coming to the statue by Geo's house to take pictures… it was terrible."

Luna interrupted. "Isn't there also a book in the works?"

Zack replied, "There is, but the author is sort of lazy..."

At that moment, a Wizard carrying their order came around the corner. "And here are your sundaes, everyone. Anything else I can get you?"

"No thanks, we're good," replied Geo.

"Alright, glad to be of service, sir." The rather eager Wizard disappeared.

"Alright, sundaes!" shouted Bud. "First one to an ice cream headache wins! Go!"

At that, all of them started shoveling ice cream into their mouths. Zack choked. "Aaaah! I win! I win! Owwwww!"

"Sweet, sweet justice," muttered Omega-Xis.

"Huh? What?"

"Nothing, it's nothing."

The friends continued eating their sundaes, at a much slower pace this time. "So, anything else interesting happen over the winter?" asked Sonia.

"Not too much. It was nice to spend the vacation with dad back though," remarked Geo, "it's been a long time."

"I see… and the rest of you?"

Zack and Bud got worried looks on their faces. Luna replied, "Nothing much, just the usual. As the Student Body President, I had to make sure these two for sure stayed in line though!" As she shot them a look, they cowered further into their seats. Luna lowered her voice a few decibels, and whispered, "And you were on that tour lately, right?"

"Yeah! It was sort of hectic, travelling everywhere and performing. It's different when I go off with Lyra. That's quiet. But on stage, the whole place is full of energy! It's tiring, but it's worth it," replied Sonia. "Aah, this sundae is so good…"

Suddenly, Pedia, Zack's yellow and teal wizard, popped out of Zack's Hunter VG. "Pardon my intrusion, but barometric readings indicate there is a 90% chance of rain arriving within the hour."

"Rain? That's a bit odd…" Zack adjusted his glasses.

Luna looked annoyed. "Oh no! I don't want to get this outfit wet! Bud! Zack!" The two practically jumped in their seats.

"Yes Luna?"

"We're going. So- I mean, Melody, Geo, sorry to leave so soon."

"It's alright, Luna," said Geo. "We'll see you tomorrow!"

"Bright and early! Goodbye Geo! So- Melody!" And with that, the Prez walked out, with the big Bud and the short Zack in tow.

"She's got them pretty whipped, doesn't she?" joked Lyra as they moved out of earshot. The other three just stared at her. "What? I'm just saying it's not exactly a wonder why she and Ophiuchus were able to EM Wave Change." The others just groaned.

Geo turned back to Sonia. "So, actually, I just remembered something else. Apparently, someone moved into the house next door to me."

"Oh really?" asked Sonia. "What are they like?"

Had Geo caught on to Sonia's teasing tone, he might not have said "I don't know, I haven't met them yet."

"Ah, that's interesting then…"

"Oh, So- er, Melody, speaking of which, if you…" Geo suddenly trailed off. Suddenly, his thoughts were rushed with a familiar feeling, the same one he had felt before at Vista Point. _Wait, what am I doing? I just… I'm… freezing up? Why?_ He looked intently into the girl's eyes.

Sonia tilted her head, confused. "What's wrong, Geo?"

"N-nothing." _Why is my voice so shaky? And my heart's pounding…_

"So what were you going to say?"

"I was… I was just going to say that… well… if you ever need a place to stay while you're here, my house is open for you!"

"Oh, thanks! But I do have a place to stay, Geo. You don't need to worry about me!"

"Ah… that's good then." But somehow, Geo felt a slight sinking feeling, a feeling like those were words he didn't want to hear despite the good news. "Well, I guess we should head back too."

"I'll walk home with you, if you want, Geo." Again, Sonia used a teasing tone.

"Oh, you don't have to do that," he replied.

"Oh, you'd think that wouldn't you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Without answering, Sonia motioned for Geo to follow her, giggling again. Geo's heart almost skipped a beat. _Calm down, Geo,_ he thought to himself, _what's up with you?_ He followed Sonia to the Wave Liner that would take them back to Echo Ridge.

Sonia was practically vibrating with excitement as the Wave Liner pulled in to the Echo Ridge station. "Good old Echo Ridge, back once again!" As they disembarked, Sonia turned to face Geo. "Right, so my house is down this way.

"Looks like we're walking together then." Geo looked down at his Hunter VG. "Mega, you've been sort of quiet. You alright?"

Mega, who had been quietly whispering to Lyra the entire time, broke his silence. "Oh, yeah, just kinda… uh… reading a thing! About weird weather patterns! Yeah, that's it!" In actuality, the AM-ian had been speaking to Lyra without them hearing. "Oh, but I will say this – you're in for another surprise today!"

"Really? What?"

"That wouldn't make it much of a surprise, would it?" Omega-Xis looked less than impressed with the boy's cognitive abilities.

Geo sighed. "Fine, but you better not be hiding anything crazy."

Sonia, meanwhile, had a big grin on her face. "And here we are!"

Geo turned and looked where Sonia was standing. Then he looked to his left. Then he looked back at the house in front of him.

"Surprise! I'm your new neighbor, Geo!"

Geo almost tripped again. A shocked expression slowly melted into a gaping smile. "You mean you're the new neighbor?"

"Of course, silly. Who else would be able to get that abandoned lot, anyway?"

"I figured it was going to be one of Luna's relatives or something, with how much the place was selling for!"

Mega and Lyra materialized behind them. "Well," said the blue alien, "there goes the neighborhood."

The harp's pink flames burned just a little brighter for a moment. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Urk-! Sorry I said anything. I'm going to go hide now. Later." And with that, Mega promptly jumped back into Geo's Hunter VG, earning a good laugh from everyone.

"I went and bought this place as a vacation home in between tours. I'll be able to hang around here a lot more often now!"

At that, Geo's heart began pounding in his chest. He started feeling light, and wavered slightly, but caught himself. "Sonia… that's amazing! I'll be sure to visit whenever! Do the others know yet?"

"No, just you. I was going to tell them, but they ran off before I could bring it up."

"Figures. Prez sort of does what she wants, doesn't she?"

Drops of rain began falling from the sky. "Hate to break it up, but you two might want to get inside. It's starting to rain out here," said Lyra.

"Aah, I don't have my hoodie today! Alright, well, see you at school, Geo!"

"You too, Sonia!"

With that, Sonia ran for her door. Geo ran toward his house, taking off his now slightly wet shoes as he entered. "Mom, I'm home! You'll never believe who the new neighbor is!"

"Oh really?" replied Hope. "Who is it?"

* * *

My internet's been out the past couple days, so I've been sort of stuck writing, too. It's been nice, actually. I'm trying to tap back into my creative side, if it ever existed in the first place. Hopefully I can start kicking this sucker up a notch soon. Perhaps even in the next chapter! We'll see.


End file.
